AT some point in time in the life of a pet owner, you are likely to be faced with the fearful discovery that your pet has a lump. Lumps and bumps are very common and just like in people, some lumps can be nasty and cancerous, whilst others can be completely harmless.
The best thing to do of course if you find a lump on your pet is to have it checked by your vet. The ones to worry about might be changing rapidly in shape, size and colour. They might be ulcerated or bleeding intermittently, or perhaps they might be in an awkward spot such as near an eye or in between toes. There is absolutely no harm in having a lump checked.
If further information is required after they have assessed fine needle aspirates in the clinic, by sending the slide to the veterinary laboratories for further analysis. Some lumps too are better to be biopsied (excisional biopsy as opposed to fine needle aspirate) or surgically removed and the vet can help create the best plan for each individual case.
A very quick and easy and cheap test that takes less than five minutes at the vet clinic can often be performed on worrisome lumps that involves taking a very small sample with a very fine needle, squirting a little sample onto a microscope slide and examining the cells under a microscope. We can tell a lot about a lump from what we see on these slides and we can get a very good idea of whether a lump is something to worry about and should be treated, or whether it is harmless and can be left alone and a close eye kept on it for any changes.
GV Vets are doing free diagnosis checks for lumps and bumps on your pets during the month of June. GV Vets are located at 169 Nixon Street Shepparton. You can make a booking online at GVVets.com.au or by calling them on 5878 1144
